Sliding panel



H. J. KLEIN 'sLIDlNG PANEL Nov. 11, 1952 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 Original FiedMarch 28, 1950 Reissued Nov. 11, 1952 SLIDING PANEL Hyman J. Klein,Closter, N. J., assigner to Sidney Sarner, Tenay, N. J.

Original No. 2,553,459, dated May 15, 1951, Serial No. 152,344, March28, 1950.

Application for reissue May 6, 1952, Serial No. 287,299

Matter enclosed in heavy brackets I: appears in the original patent butforms no part o1' this reissue specication; matter printed in italicsindicates the additions made by reissue.

9 Claims.

This invention relates to sliding panels, particularly sliding doors,and to means for supporting and guiding the same.

In order to save space, provide for improved appearances and decorativepossibilities through the elimination of unsightly door knobs, and forvarious other reasons, constantly increasing use is being made of doorsoi the sliding type as compared with hinged-type doors. Such use has upto the present been subject to various objections which have preventedthe attainment of all the advantages inherent in closures of the slidingpanel type. Thus, previously employed sliding panels have been prone tobecome disengaged from their tracks, or move too sluggishly orcompletely bind therein. In many instances, unsightly openings are leftat the vertical and horizontal edges between panel and frame. All orpart of these defects have been caused by the fact that in many cases,the frames do not lie in a vertical plane and/or the vertical andhorizontal edges of the frames are not respectively parallel and/ortruly vertical or level. Further, in many installations reversal of thepanel through 180 about its vertical or horizontal axis to minimize theaforementioned defects or to present an undamaged or improved outwardlyappearance has been made impossible because of the particular guidemeans employed and/or the manner of installation. These same deflectionshave likewise prevented use of the sliding panel as a partition betweentwo enclosures requiring equally unblemished appearances from bothsides.

One object of this invention is to provide novel guide means for asliding panel which will automatically compensate for any lack ofparallelism between the upper and lower edges of the frame therefor.

Another object is to provide novel guide means for a sliding panel whichmay be so adjusted that the proper compressive force is exerted againstthe upper and lower edges of the frames therefor to promote facility ininstallation and removal and to eliminate possibilities of side sway,rattling and disengagement from insuiiicient compressive force andbinding from excessive force.

A further object is to provide novel adjusting means whereby a slidingpanel may be tilted in its own vertical plane to compensate for any lackof perpendicularity of the side frames against which the vertical edgesof the panel abut.

A still further object is to provide novel guide means for slidingpanels which may be so installed as to be imperceptible from either sideand at the same time permit ready reversal of the panel through aboutits horizontaler vertical axis,

er objects and advantages will appear from the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a front elevation of two sliding panels partially cut away toshow the guide means;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing one ofthe inserts and adjusting bolts in elevation;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view on line 5--5 of Fig. 1

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view on line 6 6 of Fig. 5 showing thewheel, yoke and spindle in elevation;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view on line 'I-T of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a partial section showing a modified form of mounting forhollow panels;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the U-shaped bracket of Fig. 8.

Referring now to the drawings, numeral I 0 indicates sliding panels intothe top and bottom edges of which my improved guiding means areinserted. The upper guide means, as shown in Fig. 5, move in an uppertrackway I2 fastened to the upper support or frame I3, which means areconcealed from view by a valance I4 to produce a more pleasingappearance. The lower guide means, as shown in Fig. 2, move in a lowertrackway I5 fastened to the bottom support or still IE and/or underfloorII and preferably ush with the iinished floor I8 so as to provide anunobstructed surface. As shown in Fig. 1, the panels Il) abut at theirsides against side frames I9, although it is obvious that the panels maybe of the disappearing type Without departing from the scope of theinvention.

The lower guide means, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, comprise a channelshaped member, the upturned flanges 20 oi which lie in a recess 2| inthe bottom edge of the panel deep enough to permit the free movementtherein of a wheel or roller 22 rotatably mounted on a rivet, pin oraxle 23 passing transversely through the said anges. The rim of thewheel passes through an opening 24 in the web 25 of said channel shapedmember so as to engage the bottom trackway. The channel shaped member isadjustably secured to the bottom edge of the panel by means of bolts 26passing through openings 21 in web extensions 28 and yengaginginternally threaded inserts 2S in the bottom edge of the panel.Adjustability of the wheel assembly is obtained by employing a bolt witha fixed collar or circular flange 30 whereby the web extensions 28 oatbetween the bolt head and said collar.

The upper guide means, as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 is a spring-biasedadjustable wheel assembly which comprises a socket, tube, casing orcylinder 3'I containing a compression spring 32 xed at its lower end 33to the socket and at its upper end 34 to a slotted internally threadedsleeve, collar or stop nut 35 whereby said spring exerts force on saidsleeve in an outward axial direction while preventing it from rotatingwhen spindle 31 is threaded therethrough. Said sleeve 35 is slidable inthe socket and is prevented from sliding out therefrom by a cylindricalescutcheon base plate plug 36. Said spindle or stud bolt 31 is threadedat its lower end to thereby engage the sliding sleeve 35. This spindleis slidable in the plug 36 so that it is capable of both axial androtational motion in the socket. The upper end of the spindle is xed toa yoke or cevis 38 in which is mounted a rivet, pin or axle 39 uponwhich the wheel or roller 40 rotates. The assembly is recessed in theupper edge of the panel I and lxed thereto by means of the mounting orescutcheon base plate 4I. Where the panel is hollow, the sole use of anescutcheon base plate for mounting the assembly is insuflicient, and insuch case a U-shaped member 42 may be inserted in the panel as shown inFigs. 8 and 9. This U-shaped member is mounted at a proper distancebelow the top edge of the panel and welded or otherwise fastened theretoso that when installed for use, said socket passes through the openingin the upper arm of said U-shaped member and rests upon the lower armthereof.

It will of course be understood that other means for mounting orrecessing the spring-biased guide assembly at the upper edge of thepanel may be availed of. Thus, in the case of a hollow metal panel,instead of inserting the socket into the top edge of the panel, thesocket may be directly fastened to the inside wall of the panel at sucha distance below said edge that the upper periphery of the roller is theonly part of the guide assembly that extends above said edge forengaglng the upper trackway. This manner of mounting is advantageous inthat said assembly is almost entirely hidden, the panel wall acting asits own valance. In this case, the escutcheon base plate is superfluous,the U-shaped member may be dispensed with, and .the socket fastened tothe inside wall of the panel by means of metal straps, welding, or thelike. A preferred means for so installing the spring-biased guideassembly involves the use of mounting flanges at upper and lower ends ofthe socket or extending the entire length thereof and in a planeparallel to that of the panel, whereby the flanges may be fastened tothe panel by bolting, riveting, welding or the like. These flanges maybe welded or otherwise fastened to the socket or they may be madeintegral therewith by bending the socket from a sheet of metal widerthan the circumference of the socket and folding back the excess metalin a plane tangential at the seam running the length of the socket. Orthe excess metal may be so folded as to form flanges in a plane parallelto said tangential plane but spaced therefrom so that the socket will bemounted further away from the inside wall of the panel.

In putting my improved panel and guide means into use, no particularpreparations are necessaryv for aligning panel and frame and similarexpensive and time-consuming operations. The upper spring-biased guideassembly is placed in the upper trackway, and by pressing upwardsslightly to compress the springs, the bottom wheel assembly may bequickly placed in position in the lower trackway. The panel willthereafter automatically adjust itself to any lack of parallelismbetween the upper and lower trackways. Lack of perpendicularity of theabutting side frames, with resulting unsightly cracks and openings, maybe readily compensated for by simply raising or lowering the wheelassembly under one or the other side of the panel whereby the panel willbe tilted in its own vertical plane to a position in which betterContact is had with the abutting side frames. Since the spring-biasedguide means may be adjusted in length by simply screwing the spindleinto or out of the socket, the compressive force exerted against thetrackways may oe altered at any time to provide a panel which will slidequickly, easily and noiselessly. Thus, looseness in the trackways withresulting rattling, sidesway and disengagement may be readily eliminatedby unscrewing the spindles farther out of the sockets whereby thecompressive force against the trackways is increased. Similarly, bindingand sluggishness in the trackways caused by tightness may be readilyeliminated by screwing the spindles farther into the sockets. Becausethe upper and lower guide means are edge-recessed so that they cannot beseen from either side, the improved panels of my invention may be usedto partition any space where an equally good appearance on both sides isnecessary. Likewise, where as in closet closures the outer side becomesdirty and damaged through use, the panel may be readily taken out androtated about its vertical or even horizontal axis. This rotation mayalso be desirable or necessary in some cases to mitigate frame and oorconstruction defects, panel warping and the like.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention,it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the detailsshown, since certain changes and modications readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art may be made therein without departing from theessence of my invention. Such changes and modifications are to beregarded as within the purview of this application and the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A sliding panel comprising a plurality of spring-biased adjustablewheel assemblies mounted at one edge of said panel comprising a socketxedly recessed in said edge of the panel, a spindle having a threadedend co-axially mounted in said socket member, an internally threadedsleeve member conned and slidable in said socket and mounted on thethreaded portion of said spindle, a compression coil spring whosediameter is substantially the same as that of said sleeve member andattached at one end to said socket and at the other end to said sleevemember, whereby to exert force on said sleeve member in an outward axialdirection while preventing it from rotating when said spindle isthreaded therethrough, and a wheel mounted at the free end of thespindle adapted to engage a trackway, a plurality of springless wheelassemblies mounted at the opposite edge of the panel adapted to engage asecond trackway, and means to raise and lower each of the springlesswheel assemblies mounted at said opposite edge whereby the panel may becaused to tilt in a vertical plane.

2. A sliding panel Lomprising a plurality of spring-biased adjustableguide means mounted at one edge of said panel comprising a socket memberxedly recessed in said edge of the panel, a spindle having a threadedend co-axially mounted in said socket member, an internally threadedsleeve member conned and slidable in said socket member and mounted onthe threaded portion of said spindle, a compression coil spring whosediameter is substantially the same as that of said sleeve member andattached at one end to said socket member and at the other end to saidsleeve member whereby to exert force on said sleeve member in an outwardaxial direction while preventing it from rotating when said spindle isthreaded therethrough, and guide means mounted at the free end of saidspindle adapted to engage a trackway, recesses in the opposite edge ofsaid panel, each of said recesses having mounted therein a springlesswheel assembly comprising a channel member having a p-in mountedtransversely through the upwardly turned flanges thereof and parallel tothe bottom web thereof, a wheel mounted rotatably on the pin and passingthrough an opening in the web for engaging a second trackway, openingsin each end of the web, and adjustable bolt means passing through saidopenings and engaging said opposite edge of the sliding panel wherebythe wheel assemblies mounted at said opposite edge may be raised andlowered.

3. A sliding panel comprising a plurality of spring-biased guide meansmounted at one edge of said panel adapted to engage a trackway, recessesin the opposite edge of said panel, each of said recesses having mountedtherein a springless wheel assembly, a channel member having a pinmounted transversely through the upwardly turned flanges thereof andparallel to the bottom web thereof, a wheel mounted rotatably on the pinand passing through an opening in the web for engaging a secondtraekway, openings in each end of the web, and adjustable bolt meanspassing through said openings and engaging said opposite edge of thesliding panel whereby the wheel assemblies mounted at said opposite edgemay be raised and lowered.

4. A spring-biased adjustable guide assembly adapted for use in asliding panel comprising a socket member, a spindle having a threadedend co-axially mounted in said socket member, an internally threadedsleeve member confined and slidable in said socket member and mounted onthe threaded portion of said spindle, a compression coil spring whosediameter is substantially the same as that of said sleeve member andattached at one end to said socket member and at the other end to saidsleeve member whereby to exert force on said sleeve member in an outwardaxial direction while preventing it from rotating when said spindle isthreaded therethrough, means for fastening said socket member to thepanel, and guide means mounted at the free end of said spindle adaptedto engage a trackway.

5. A spring-biased adjustable wheel assembly adapted for use in asliding panel comprising a socket member, an internally threaded sleevemember slidable therein, a compression coil spring Whose diameter issubstantially the same as that of said sleeve member and attached at oneend to said socket member and at the other end to said sleeve memberwhereby to exert force on said sleeve member in an outward axialdirection while preventing it from rotating when the spindle hereinafterset forth is threaded therethrough, a cylindrical plug mounted at theopen end of said socket member serving to confine the sleeve member inthe socket member against the compressive force of the spring, a spindleone end of which is threaded and passes slidably through said plug toengage said internally threaded sleeve member, the other end of thespindle being rigidly attached to a yoke, pin and wheel uni/t, and amounting plate lying in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axisof said socket member and attached thereto at the plug end thereof.

6. A spring-biased adjustable wheel assembly adapted for use in asliding panel comprising a socket member, an internally threaded sleevemember slidable therein, a compression coil spring whose diameter issubstantially the same as that of said sleeve member and attached at oneend to said socket member and at the other end to said sleeve memberwhereby to exert force on said sleeve member in an outward axialdirection while preventing it from rotating when the spindle hereinafterset forth is threaded therethrough, a cylindrical plug mounted at theopen end of said socket member serving to conne the sleeve member in thesocket member against the compressive force of the spring, a spindle oneend of which is threaded and passes slidably through said plug to engagesaid internally threaded sleeve member, the other end of the spindlebeing rigidly attached to a yoke, pin and wheel unit, and mountingflanges attached to the periphery of said socket member and lying in aplane tangential thereto.

7. A sliding panel comprising a plurality of spring-biased adjustablewheel assemblies mounted at one edge of said panel comprising a socketxedly recessed in said edge of the panel, a spindle having a threadedend co-axially mounted in said socket member, an internally threadedsleeve member confined and slidable in said socket and mounted on thethreaded portion of said spindle, a spring adapted to exert force onsaid sleeve member in `an outward axial direction, and a wheel mountedat the free end of the spindle adapted to engage a trackway, a pluralityof springless wheel assemblies mounted at the opposite edge of the paneladapted to engage a second trackway, and means secured to said oppositeedge of the panel to raise and lower each of the springless Wheelassemblies mounted at said opposite edge whereby the panel may be causedto tilt in a vertical plane.

8. A spring biased adjustable wheel assembly for use in a sliding panelcomprising a socket member, an internally threaded sleeve member whoseoutside diameter is substantially the same as the inside diameter ofsaid socket member and slidable therein, a compression coil spring whosediameter is substantially the same as that of said sleeve memberdisposed within said socket member with one end pressing against theclosed end of said socket member and the other end pressing against saidsleeve member, a cylindrical plug mounted at the open end of said socketmember serving to confine the sleeve member in the socket member againstthe compressive force of the spring, a spindle one end of which isthreaded and passes slidably through said plug to engage said internallythreaded sleeve member, and a yoke, pin and wheel unit rigidly attachedto the other end of said spindle, and a mounting plate lying in a planeperpendicular to the longitudinal amis of said socket member andattached thereto at the plug end thereof.

9. A spring biased adjustable wheel assembly adapted for use in asliding panel comprising a socket member, an internally threaded sleevemember whose outside diameter is substantially the same as the insidediameter of said socket member and `slidable therein, a compression coilspring coaially disposed within said socket member and having a diametersubstantially equal to that of said sleeve member, one end of saidspring contacting the closed end of said socket member and the other endcontacting and urging said 15 spindle, and mounting flanges at the openend of said socket member and located in a plane at right angles to theaxis of said socket member, said plug means engaging said flanges.

HYMAN J. KLEIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent or the original patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 90,193 Prudhomme et a1. May 18,1869 207,120 Hunt Aug. 20, 1878 595,505 Weslng Dec. 14, 1897 657,488Gulck Sept. 4, 1900 681,379 Tdd Aug. 27, 1901 1,356,685 Allmend Oct. 26,1920 1,448,845 Johnson et a1 Mar. 20, 1923 1,640,143 Corcoran Aug. 23,1927 2,347,524 Swan Apr. 25, 1944 2,581,606 Seaman et a1. Jan. 8, 1952FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 468,220 Great Britain June 30, 1937

